This invention relates to providing systems for improved monitoring of changes in the location and conditions within vehicles and the materials transported by vehicles. More specifically, this invention relates to real-time monitoring of changes in the location and conditions within shipping vehicles and the loads transported within such shipping vehicles.
Perishable products now arrive at distribution centers and stores from increasingly distant production sites. The increasing shipping distances now imposed on product supply chains greatly increase the risk of product deterioration during transit. A wide variety of food, pharmaceutical, and chemical products are degraded by improper exposure to temperature, humidity, light or other contaminants. For example, maintaining optimal temperatures throughout the supply chain is vital for perishable, refrigerated and frozen products. Transport storage temperatures above or below a narrow optimum range for a perishable item often reduces a product's shelf life by hours or days. In the case of perishable produce, damage often becomes apparent only after the product shipment has been delivered and accepted; thus more and more a deliveree may hesitant to accept a load unless there is sufficient evidence that the load has been maintained during shipment in this desired temperature range. For pharmaceuticals, the efficacy of a product degraded during transit may have immediate life-threatening consequences.
In addition, national security interest has recently focused on the motor trucking industry. The trucking industry is a major component of the U.S. transportation sector, but currently lacks effective systems to prevent trucks and cargo from being used as tools by terrorists or as a means for moving contraband. The ability to track and monitor, in real time, the contents and location of vehicles during transit would provide an effective means for countering illegal or terror-based activities.
Inadequate monitoring of changes in the location and conditions surrounding shipping vehicles and shipped materials has resulted in spoilage, damage, misplacement, loss, and theft of extremely valuable property. A system capable of efficiently monitoring, in real-time, changes in location and surrounding conditions of hazardous, perishable, refrigerated and frozen materials, during transit, would be extremely beneficial to many.